A few more pics...

As if I didn't post enough pics the last time!...

me, latia and shawna 7.2.09

...my attempt at replacing crappy memories with fun new ones...

shawna and i

shawna, sarah and i at latia's reception

and again at the reception...

have a great weekend!!!

playing catch up...lots of pics!

Okay, so I'm not really sure why I haven't found the time to update my blog since March, but I obviously haven't. So to make it up to the three of you who actually read this, I will overload you with pics from the last few months... :)

here's me and one of my best friends, shawna, hangin out a couple weeks ago...in case you're wondering what's with the beads, there was a dj passing out beads and prizes that night
this is me and one of my oldest friends, sarah, at our friend latia's wedding reception

on june 20th
here's shawna, me and sarah at the reception...

and here's me with the beautiful bride, latia, and sarah at the reception...

this pic was taken at shawna's surprise 30th b-day party (bbq at her house) in may...i graduated high school with all of these girls. it was fun to see them all!

here's shawna, me and latia at club lux in akron for latia's bachelorette party...

shawna, sarah and me at the hotel before the limo picked us up for the bachelorette party festivities...

this is a random pic of me and sarah one night in may...

here's another pic of me and sarah hanging out at a friend's house after watching a cavs game...

and another of me and sarah...at 3 amigos dance club...

me and shawna at 3 amigos...

me and latia at leroys before going dancing at 3 amigos...

me and shawna at leroys...

sarah, me and shawna at leroys before heading to the dance club...

shawna, sarah and me at 3 amigos...

me and latia at the orrville vfw...this was at shawna's mom's surprise 50th party...lots of fun!

me and sarah at the surprise party...

me, shawna and sarah at the party...

Well, I hope you've gotten your fix of smiling pics of me lol. As you can tell, I'm having a lot of fun hanging out with old friends, making new friends, and just experiencing life for the time being. I'm working a lot lately, and it can be quite exhausting and stressful, but I'm feeling grateful to have a job right now. I haven't lost any more weight, but I haven't gained either, so I'm not upset. I do still hope to lose another 15 lbs, but until life slows down and allows me a more flexible schedule again, I'll have to be content with maintaining my weight. I still workout daily and stay very active, so it's not as though I'm slacking!

In other news, my best friend Michelle is expecting her 4th child -- finally a GIRL! -- and I couldn't be happier for her!!! I'm excited to know that I'll be here when she's born in October. Our schedules have been crazy lately, and we're sad to not be able to spend a lot of time together, but I'm hoping that changes soon. Hopefully I'll have some pics of her and I to post soon.

Well, I need to get to bed, so I'll stop blabbing for now. I'll try not to make it another 3 months before posting again! :)

High School Friends Reunited

Last weekend I met up with more old friends, most of whom I hadn't seen in over ten years, and it was a blast! It's funny to think we've been out of school so long, because most of us still look about the same (other than maybe a few extra pounds! lol). We got together at B-Dubs (BW3s), and throughout the night there were probably about 20 people who joined in the fun. Here are a few pics...

Me, Jessie and Shawna

an action shot of me laughing, which isn't so cute (lol!) -- and my friend Jeremy

Jess, Shawna, Jeremy, Angie, Sarah, Shannon and me kneeling on a stool in the back :)


weird bright lighting on this one?!

It's fun to get together as adults and see what everyone's been up to all these years. Even though I'm not sure Ohio is the place for me, I'm really enjoying visiting with old friends and meeting some new ones along the way. I'm getting out and enjoying life much more than I had in a long time, and that's a great thing!

A few more pics...

Me, Michelle, and Amy at Max McQ's in Akron

Me cheesin it up...trying out my new cell camera :)

Old friends I went to school with from 5th grade until graduation...I can't believe we've been out of school for almost 12 years!!!

Blog SLACKER!

It's obviously been quite a while since my last post, and there are numerous lame reasons for my slacking off...been busy, got sick for about 2 weeks, had a b-day, been working, etc. So although I'm not in the mood for a long post, here's an update on what's been happening with me...A couple friends had planned a fun night out to celebrate my turning the big 3-0, and just my luck, I got sick the day before, which lasted a couple weeks (ugh!). So other than my parents taking me out for a yummy steak dinner at Lonestar Steakhouse on my actual birthday, I didn't have a wonderful b-day. But it certainly could've been worse, so I won't complain. :) I did get to meet up with a group of old friends from high school last month, which was fun, and we're actually getting together again next week. It's fun to see how everyone has grown up (or not -- lol). As for work, I've had to go help with various jobs, one of which is in PA. I won't lie and say I enjoy what I do right now, but I can say that I'm grateful to have a job (thanks Mom!) in this tough economy. Other than that, I've just been spending time with Michelle and other friends.

One sad thing to note is that my aunt Dee (Mom's younger sister) just passed away yesterday afternoon after a long battle with breast cancer. It's a sad time, but we're grateful for the wonderful life she lead and that she is no longer suffering. She just turned 47 last Tuesday, and she left behind her husband Brant, 24 yr old daughter Taryn, 22 yr old daughter Abbi, and 12 yr old son Chaim. While my heart aches for them, we can all take comfort in knowing that she is undoubtedly in heaven now. It was awesome to see how many lives she's touched over the years, as so many people came to visit her and share such wonderful things about her these last couple weeks. I'm very grateful I was able to spend some time with her and my uncle and cousins. There will be a private family graveside service at 10am on Saturday morning, followed by a lunch at her church at noon, and then a "celebration of life" at 2pm. Dee didn't want anyone to wear dark colors and be sad on this day, so she requested that everyone wear bright cheery colors to the celebration and enjoy themselves. She wanted us to play "Spirit in the Sky", and we will be letting off 200 smiley face (she loved and collected yellow smilies) balloons in her honor, at the end of the celebration...She is very loved and will be missed by so many. Love you Aunt Dee!

And finally, here are some recent pics...

Me with old friend, Angie, from school

Me and Michelle before a girls night out in February

Me and Michelle at a b-day party for her husband's friend last weekend

Update...

I know I haven't posted much lately, but honestly I've been on the go pretty much non-stop over the last month or so. I finally realized I needed to stop wallowing in my sorrows and get off my butt and start having some fun, so I did. The good part is that I'm rarely bored, and I'm having a lot of fun. The down side is that I'm a little sleep-deprived these days. A typical night consists of a bedtime around 3am, which is completely bizarre to me! For someone who has always needed about 8 hours of sleep each night, I'm actually functioning pretty well on about 4 hours a night. But I have incorporated a nap into my routine on Saturdays or Sundays, so I'm sure that helps. :) I've been meeting up with a bunch of old friends, and it's pretty cool to see everyone as adults. We go out to the bars, play darts, play Wii, watch movies, hang out and whatever else sounds like fun. I've also been going to my niece and nephew's ball games. My niece is an 8th grade cheerleader (took after her aunt Cami!), so I've been going to watch her cheer on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It's fun to watch her do many of the same cheers I did back in middle and high school...brings back some great memories! My nephew Luke is on a basketball league for 10-year-old boys, and I just saw him play on Saturday afternoon. He had 2 points and 2 rebounds, so I was proud of him. I've been out of state for so long, so I really enjoy getting to go to these things.

Other than all that, I've been really good about my workout routine. I created a spreadsheet to help me keep track of the frequency of my workouts, as well as what particular exercises I'm doing each time. In looking at the spreadsheet this morning, I was proud to see that I'd only skipped two days of working out during the entire month of January. While I admit that it's very hard for me to drag my butt out of bed every morning at 6:30, once I get on my bike and get moving, I'm so happy to be doing it. As of today, I've lost 70.5 lbs from my highest weight and 57.5 lbs since April 08'. Additionally, I'm losing inches like crazy and toning pretty much everywhere. I'm really starting to like my new body and am enjoying the boost in confidence from all my hard work. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm actually looking forward to bathing suit shopping this year -- although glad it's still a few months away. :) In the last two weeks, I was super excited to fit into cute juniors size jeans again, which I happily bought (2 pair) and have worn everyday! Ideally, I'd still like to lose another 10-15 lbs, and I'm confident it'll happen. But honestly I'm just happy to be in a healthy weight range and to be feeling as good as I do. I've come to realize that working out will always be a part of my lifestyle going forward, and I like that. I know that I have to hold myself accountable, and that's important to me now, unlike before. My mindset has completely changed during this last year, and I finally realize that I'm important, and I need to take care of me.

Well that pretty much sums up what's been happening with me lately. My 30th birthday (yuck!) is coming up in two weeks, so if I don't post before then, I'm sure I'll have a b-day post with pics of my wild and crazy time. :)

Quite possibly the best invention yet!

Because the weather is so awful here right now, I'm pretty much stuck inside, and I AM BORED. One might suggest that I do something productive -- like exercise, but I'm already ahead of you there. I rode a total of twenty (that's 20!) miles on my stationary bike today, not to mention that I did 75 crunches and various other exercises. So needing to find something else to occupy my time, I came across a SkyMall magazine that my mom obtained over two months ago. I'm sure you've seen these magazines if you've ever flown anywhere....They're full of hundreds of overpriced, unnecessary, yet completely desirable items. Anyhow, while flipping through the pages and creating a mental list of all the totally awesome things that I suddenly realize I need, I come across this, and I wonder where this amazing product has been all my life:



It's called "the 'keep your distance' bug vacuum", and I've been hoping for something like this my entire adult life! I never knew it existed, but I so could've used it all these years.
I've always been scared of spiders and had my parents kill them for me when I was growing up. But I had to do it myself when I got out on my own, and I've always HATED it. I usually have to grab half a roll of paper towels (to ensure the spider doesn't get remotely close to touching my skin) before even attempting to kill a spider. And then there's a 50/50 chance that I'll either A.) successfully capture the monsterous creature while trembling and fearing for my life (yeah, I'm a bit of a drama queen at times) or B.) it'll fall to the floor and go MIA, in which I then worry constantly about it tracking me down and crawling on me while I sleep, so that I end up not sleeping at all. Neither of these are wonderful outcomes to me, so I seriously think this may be the best invention yet! Here's a link, if you would like to see more about this glorious invention: http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102248756&c=10430.

I know what to ask Santa for next year! :)

Sad day...

As you know, I'm a huge Indianapolis Colts fan. And I was so excited for the start of the playoffs, the first game being last night against San Diego. I was proudly sporting my new Peyton Manning jersey, drinking from one of my Colts cups, and chilling with my cozy Colts blanket. Although I fully expected it to be a close match up throughout, I was so ready to see an Indy win. But unfortunately just as anything else in life, things don't always go as we want them to. While it was a very close game up to the end (tied at 17), the Colts defense couldn't hang on, and the Chargers took the win minutes into OT. I admit that I was pretty disappointed and wanted to curse my team. But after I mellowed out, I realized that it could have been worse...I could have been a Browns fan. Ugh. Or a Lions fan. Double ugh. So while I'm bummed that the season is now over for my beloved Colts, I'm proud at how well they did this year. Finishing with a 12-4 record is anything but bad. And I'm still very proud to sport my Manning jersey, considering he's now a three time MVP. For entertainment purposes, here are a couple pics of me in my jersey before the game...

New Years webcam shots :)

I was bored last night, so I snapped a couple of shots on the webcam...

...modeling my "naughty but nice" tee early in the evening (lol)

...closeup of the pearly whites :)

...in my workout clothes

Holiday happenings

Since I haven't posted much lately, I figured I better give an update as to what's been happening with me. I've now been in Ohio for over 7 weeks, and I'm enjoying quality time with my family and best friend. I'd like to say it's been completely wonderful, but to be honest, it's been hard being away from Eric -- especially during the holidays. The longest we'd ever been apart before this was 3 weeks. We still talk every couple days, but I'm making a conscious effort to make myself a priority and focus on what I want and need. Overall, I'm doing well and have so much to be thankful for.

While I'm disappointed to say that I haven't lost any additional weight since leaving Idaho, I am proud to note that I haven't gained any back either. With all of the holiday chaos and yummy snacks consumed over the last month, I'd say that's an accomplishment. Additionally, I'm excited to say that Santa (aka Mom and Dad) brought me an exercise bike for Christmas, which is something I've really been wanting to get me through the winter months. I've started using it over the last week, and I love it! I miss being able to ride my bike outside, but this will definitely help to fill the void while it's cold. Now that the holidays are over, I'll be stepping up my workout routine and getting back to eating like before. I jump started the new year with a great workout today...8 miles on the bike, 100 jumping jacks, 20 push ups and 20 crunches. I may go for round 2 tonight if I get bored. :)

On Christmas day, my parents and I went to my brother's apartment about 10 minutes away. We got to watch the kids open their gifts, and it was a lot of fun. They opened presents at home with their mom in the morning and then came to their dad's the rest of the day. I think they were very happy to get to spend time with both their parents on Christmas. Mom and I prepared a yummy meal of ham, cheesy potatoes, corn, beans, rolls and dirty dessert. We were all stuffed! Here are a couple pics of the kids opening their presents and posing for the camera...

In addition to my exercise bike, my parents got me a couple of exercise tank tops, a pair of jeans, a couple shirts, some bras and panties, an Indianapolis Colts lamp and some toiletries. Plus Eric sent me an awesome "girlified" Peyton Manning jersey that I love. I'll post a pic sometime soon, since Ill definitely be wearing it for Saturday night's playoff game against the Chargers. :) I am so lucky to have people who love and spoil me! I also attended a Christmas Eve service with my mom at her church, and I know she enjoyed having me there with her. It was a really nice service. Oh yeah, a couple weeks ago we attended a Christmas party for a subcontractors' association that Mom's company is affiliated with. This is a crappy pic, but since nobody has seen me in a dress in the last few years, I thought I'd share...

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous 2009!